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Unread 31-07-2015, 14:24
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FRC #5987 (Galaxia)
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Re: Drugs and Alcohol - Dirty Little Secrets

This thread is getting off-topic, and I think it is important that we bring it back to finish addressing this important issue. Whether your school is full of students literally made of money (yes, I mean they are anthropomorphic dollar bills) or there isn't a single student in your school with a roof over their head, the problem of drug abuse on FIRST teams still exists and we as a community need to decide how to deal with it.

From the perspective of a student, I would argue that mentors should only report the student to the school administration or police if they thought the student was in danger or they seriously believed that they and the student's parents would not be able to sway the student. Otherwise, I would recommend talking to the student first, and then the student's parents if that doesn't work. Being arrested for minor drug abuse (which is what would happen if they were reported to the administration or police) can ruin an otherwise stellar student's record and obliterate any possibility of college acceptance, scholarships, jobs, etc. I think that should be a last resort.

As to concerns about the program losing funding or sponsorships due to students' drug abuse, I would argue that, as long as the drug abuse does not occur at team meetings (which I certainly hope it doesn't), the school cannot blame the team for the mis-decisions of its members. As long as the administration cannot prove that mentors knew about students' drug abuse and failed to act on their knowledge, the program should not be liable for students' mistakes.

So in summary:
  • Talk to the student and their parents first
  • Only report students if there is no hope
  • Don't be stupid about not reporting students
  • Kids, don't be stupid; don't do drugs
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